Donald Trump didn’t just lose any old Senate vote on Thursday. He didn’t even just lose a vote on his signature issue. When 12 Republicans voted to block Trump’s national emergency declaration, they did so despite Trump’s personal lobbying and insistence that the vote was about Donald Trump. The Washington Post reports that, in calls to Republican senators, “the president spoke of the battle almost … Read More
Senate Passes Not-An-Emergency Resolution, Setting Up Trump’s Veto
The Senate delivered a high-profile rebuke to President Donald Trump over his signature agenda issue Thursday when 12 Republicans joined Democrats to overturn the President’s national emergency border declaration. The vote was 59-41, an overwhelming vote against the President’s executive action.Lawmakers don’t have enough votes, however, to override a certain veto from the President, but passage of the resolution in … Read More
DHS Had Database Tracking Journalists
This is creepy and evokes memories of Nixon’s enemies list. The Trump administration kept track of activists, journalists, and social media influencers tied to the Central American caravans in a secret database, documentsobtained by KNSD-TV revealed. Journalists who covered the caravans and activists said they felt they were undergoing intense inspections and scrutiny by border officials From KNSD: One photojournalist said she was … Read More
The Senate Will Join The House In Blocking Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration
Roll Call reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said senators were still looking into whether the joint resolution to stop President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration can be amended. But, the Kentucky Republican also said he anticipated the Senate would pass the measure disapproving of the border security emergency. “I was one of those hoping the president would not take the … Read More
Document Dump: There Is No Wall Emergency
Former national security appointees agree:
Document Dump: California v Trump Complaint
Filed yesterday in US District Court in San Francisco, seventeen states joined to bar Trump for using an emergency declaration to prevent Trump from diverting military funds to build his border wall. Paragraph 160 is where Trump’s own words are used against him.
Breaking: Trump Signs Budget Deal And Declares Emergency
Trump is live now. Trying to spin this as a win. Trump: “I didn’t need to do this. but I’d rather do it much faster”. That doesn’t sound like an emergency. Trump just said “I didn’t need to do this.” Some emergency! — Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 15, 2019 The optional, just-to-speed-things-up kind of emergency https://t.co/OFgU8FNrbI — Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) … Read More
Breaking: Nope, He’s Declaring A “National Emergency”
Rule of thumb: Never underestimate the stupidity of this President and his unique ability to do the worst thing. Know what's a national emergency? Having a president so stupid he can be goaded into a series of constitutional crises by the voices he hears on his tv set. — Hunter (@HunterDK) February 14, 2019 Bloomberg: President Donald Trump will sign … Read More
Trump Faces The Ire Of The Mob He Created
It turns out that it isn’t so easy to make deals with people who fundamentally disagree with you. Politics has beaten Trump and he is forced to sign a deal that gives only $1.4 billion for his stupid border wall. So what does Trump do? He tries to gaslight his supporters. At the El Paso rally this week, he implored … Read More
Democrats and Republicans Agree To A Border Deal, Averting Shutdown
The Washington Post has the details: The framework would provide $1.375 billion for barriers along the border, including 55 miles of new fencing,with certain restrictions on the location, according to a congressional official familiar with the agreement….Democrats backed down from their demand on tight limits on detention beds that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement could use to detain undocumented immigrants, pulling away from a push … Read More
Trump Incites Violence
Trump’s rally in El Paso last night — to shill for his border wall — was notable for many reasons. For one thing, the counter-rally (with El Paso native Beto O’Rourke) had more attendees… Numbers don’t lie.El Paso Fire Department crowd estimates::Trump: 6,500 Beto O’Rourke: 10,000 – 15,000 — Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) February 12, 2019 … although that number does … Read More
Document Dump: The Dems Opening Offer In The Border Wall Negotiations
Some interesting tidbits: Democrats have offered $500 million “to address humanitarian concerns at the border, including medical care, more efficient transportation, food and other consumables, and to support at least one prototype temporary holding facility (72 hours or less) with better conditions and services for migrants.” (Trump doesn’t want this, but it’ll give a lie to his supposed concern if … Read More
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
I was going to write a post about how Trump learned (although – let’s face it – he probably didn’t learn) about the importance of having good information. But this guy beat me to it: One takeaway from the federal government shutdown is the importance of good information. American presidents are privy to the highest quality data on the planet. … Read More
Movement, Ever So Slightly, On Ending The Government Shutdown
NY Times: WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday offered the first glimmers of a potential resolution to the five-week partial government shutdown, scheduling procedural votes Thursday on President Trump’s proposal to spend $5.7 billion on a border wall and a competing bill that would fund the government through Feb. 8. The plan for the Senate to consider the … Read More
“We Are Getting Crushed”
Maggie Halberman writes in the NY Times about the pressures inside the White House: President Trump has insisted that he is not going to compromise with Democrats to end the government shutdown, and that he is comfortable in his unbendable position. But privately, it’s sometimes a different story. “We are getting crushed!” Mr. Trump told his acting chief of staff, … Read More